Breen wins World Rally title

Waterford’s Craig Breen has won the World Rally Championship Academy title after a dramatic last day at Rally Great Britain.

Breen won the title following victory in five of today’s six stages in Wales, claiming the title and the €500,000 winner cheque.

Breen went into today’s last day knowing that he would have to win four of the six stages to be in with a chance of victory but with Championship rival Egon Kaur winning the first stage today the pressure was increased on Breen meaning he had to win five stages.

However, the 21-year-old responded with a flawless last five stages to finish fastest on each and win the rally by four minutes and 36 seconds from Kaur.

This left both drivers on 111 points for the season but on count-back of stage wins across the Championship Breen was declared the World Rally Championship winner with more stage victories than the Estonian.

The former Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Year won 14 out of 17 stages across the weekend to secure the Championship.

Breen was delighted after the victory; “It’s an amazing feeling,” said Breen. “I know I was the quickest driver over the whole series so to win is just brilliant.”

Alex Sinclair, Chief Executive of Motorsport Ireland, was first to congratulate Breen; “This is a fantastic occasion for Craig, his team and for Irish motorsport. We knew that Craig had the talent to compete at World level and this has shown everyone that he has the potential to go on and become a full World Rally Champion. This is just the start of what will be a very exciting career for Craig and for Irish motorsport,” Sinclair said.